The high school English curriculum does not do theatre justice. It is far better at killing any inkling of interest a teenager may have in fine arts. Why so much Shakespeare? Death of a Salesman who cares? I’m sorry what is Canadian theatre? I never read any in high school…
When you hear the word theatre or play, what do you think of? For many, that answer would be Shakespeare, more specifically Romeo and Juliet. However, if you are like me, maybe you were introduced to theatre in a drama class. Perhaps it opened a new interest or appreciation for what theatre is. If you did not take a drama class, theatre and plays were introduced as a literary element in English class in high school. For the most part, what is introduced is various plays of Shakespeare and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller…I am here to say: WHY!? Seriously, the introduction to the world of theatre and plays in high school is abysmal. I think reading Romeo and Juliet is fine. It provides a good example for students to learn about tragedy, motifs, symbolism, irony…all that good stuff students learn for analysis and how to come up with their conclusion on what to take away from stories. However, being introduced to old-English styled text as a teenager, can miss-conceptualize and shut down any interest in theatre before it even begins. It was not until I went to university for theatre, and took an English-cognate class about Shakespeare, that I finally understood how to navigate the text of Shakespeare. High schools should choose one of Shakespeare’s plays and then move on or rotate one out each year. They also could use Greek tragedies like Madea, by Euripides or Oedipus, by Sophocles. At least these two plays are written like modern text and are far less intimidating at a first glance. Again, I’m not hating on Shakespeare, I just think they could simmer down on how much of it they use.
Perhaps one reason theatre often fills their seats with an older audience, is because our education system suffocates any interest in theatre beyond high school. Creating an indifferent outlook on theatre for multiple generations. Did you ever read Death of a Salesman in school? I bet you did. If you did not, I am jealous. For starters, Death of a Salesman premiered in 1949. The whole play is about the death of the American dream, through the story of a struggling salesman and the main protagonist, Willy Loman. First off, salesman doesn’t even really exist anymore. You want to see a salesman, go click on the “add to cart” button on a website. There is your salesman. Secondly, you already learned enough about the United States in Social Studies or Humanities class. That, and American media has dominated Canadian television for several years. I don’t think we need to read an old-ass play about the death of the American dream. They have enough spotlight time so, please leave. Compared to Shakespeare, Death of a Salesman cannot be adapted to fit the present day. There is no new purpose or a new iteration like you can with any of Shakespeare’s plays. I could see how you may argue that Death of a Salesman still has some thought when it comes to capitalism, and how salesman is not a thing anymore, but there are more modern pieces that discuss these topics without stretching themselves too thin.
So, what should they do? How could they inject some much-needed modernization into the introductory of theatre for teenagers? Easy, show some Canadian theatre. We have a plethora of playwrights who have created and are creating amazing plays, that high school students would find far more engaging, and more in tune with what is going on around the world and in Canada. There is a horrifying lack of Canadian theatre content being introduced in the high school English curriculum, and I have no idea why. Using Canadian playwrights such as Judith Thompson, Tomson Highway and David Yee (to name a few) would help highlight the numerous cultures of Canada while providing a glimpse of what is currently happening in theatre within Canada. When teenagers are introduced to a play like Romeo and Juliet that was written in 1597…I don’t blame them for thinking it is old. Hell, teenagers right now think Facebook is used by old people and Instagram and Tik-tok are for young folks. The point is, why is it that since I was in high school from 2011-2013, and my younger brother, who currently is finishing his senior year of high school in 2021, must-read Death of a Salesman? The world has become so fast-paced that whatever happened yesterday is already old and will often not hold people’s attention. Yet we have our high school education system not keeping up with the times. They do not change to reflect the world their students are currently living in. This is not to say we should not showcase things of the past. After all, there are major world history events, and pieces like Shakespeare that provide great lessons, but it does not mean our education systems should not update their source material now and then.
I suppose the nice thing is that boards of education do help support certain pieces of theatre, by funding a production so it can travel across a province performing in multiple schools. Often these plays involve subjects like alcohol and drug abuse, environmental concerns, racism, sexism, and mental health. They can be hit or miss, but at least they are new works that try to align themselves closely to the concerns of the present-day student body.
Let us not forget optional classes like drama or musical theatre. These classes incorporate modern source material for school productions and scene work. These optional classes can revitalize interest in theatre for students. It did for me. However, not all students take those courses, there are other options and interests for students, but all students are required to take English. Perhaps the English curriculum and the drama curriculum could riff off one another. Student productions could be an open discussion in English class. It could make text analysis more practical. People already do that when they go to a movie theatre, it certainly would not be hard to do it for theatre.
If it sounds like I am beating a dead horse here, good. The English curriculum has been beating a dead horse called: “theatre” for quite some time. In conclusion, the high school English curriculum should consider modernizing its source material, because it would perhaps encourage and support Canadian theatre and put an end to stifling a student’s bare minimum interest in what theatre is and can be. Not everyone needs to like theatre, but if it was introduced in a more present-day manner, I think it would at least hold a student’s interest for a little longer than it does now.